The Highways Agency said the hole measured around 16ft (5m) by 6ft (2m) and was 15ft (4.5m) deep.

Tailbacks built up after the Kent motorway was shut between junction 5 near Sittingbourne and junction 6 south of Faversham.

A spokeswoman said: "The road has been closed while urgent safety checks are made following a large hole opening up in the central reservation.

"Agency staff and contractors are working hard to inspect the hole and make the necessary repairs and lanes will be reopened when it is safe to do so."

She added that there were delays both east and westbound in the area of the closure and urged drivers heading to and from the port of Dover to use the M20 instead.

Motoring organisations have warned about the danger of potholes this winter while the Local Government Association has also highlighted the problem and has expressed concern at funding levels for councils.

SHOCK: Bizarre weather has impacted most of the country [GETTY]

AA roads policy head Paul Watters added: "The M2 started operating in 1965 and I am not aware of any previous collapses so perhaps this is yet another casualty of the exceptionally wet weather.

"We hope the Highways Agency can quickly resolve the problem as this is a key route to the port of Dover and to east Kent."

Earlier this month a sinkhole measuring 30ft (9m) deep swallowed up a car after opening up on the driveway of a house in High Wycombe.

Nobody was inside the VW Lupo when the ground on Main Road in Walter's Ash gave way.

Firefighters said the hole was about 15ft (4.5m) diameter.

AA president Edmund King said: "Thankfully this was on the central reservation. If a hole of this nature had opened up on a carriageway it could well have led to tragedy."

“ Perhaps this is yet another casualty of the exceptionally wet weather”

Paul Watters

He went on: "I don't think this is anything to do with potholes or general maintenance. There seems to have been some structural anomaly - perhaps some sort of geological fault or an old mineshaft.

"Clearly, it's a concern that this has happened on a busy motorway that leads to and from the coast. Engineers will want to deal with this as soon as possible. If the stretch of motorway stays shut it will cause traffic problems, but safety must come first."

Mr King said that the Highways Agency, which is responsible for England's motorways and major A roads, has generally got a good maintenance record, with the pothole problem being confined mainly to local authority-run minor roads.

The Highways Agency said signed diversion routes were in operation for drivers affected by the M2 closure.